Fishermen under the banner of Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation and National Fishworkers Forum have come out in solidarity with the Koodankulam anti-nuclear agitators in Tamil Nadu.
They have announced plans to hold rallies and dharnas in all the district centres beginning from Friday. It will be capped with a national black day observance on September 17.
Instead of brutally suppressing the agitation by the fisherfolk in Koodankulam, the government should take a stance against dangerous nuclear power plants and protect the habitats and livelihood of the local people, NFF national secretary T Peter, KSMTF state president P P John and district president J P John told a news conference here on Thursday.
The office-bearers also took strong exception to the proposed Oceanorium project which has been mooted as part of ‘Emerging Kerala’. According to them, fishermen in Vypeen and surrounding areas will be badly affected if the project comes up.
“Also, the declaration of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to open up the state’s coastline for cargo ship movement has created a lot of apprehension among fishermen. Long gillnet are being used by fishermen along the state’s coastline and this will eventually be destroyed. In this context, it should be ensured that the movement of cargo ships is 12 nautical miles from the coast,’’ they demanded.
They also demanded speedy implementation of the Vizhinjam fiheries port.
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